Down to Tartarus Part Two
by 7fanatic
Summary: Percy and Annabeth are now in Tartarus, where Gaea is growing more awake than ever. Trying to find their way across the Underworld, they find themselves in Gaea's hands. Meanwhile, the other 5 demigods are on their way to the Doors of Death. Finding their way to the House of Hades might be harder than they thought! Narrated by Percy and Annabeth, this epic Tartarus story is told!
1. Gone Again (recap of part 1)

**Annabeth was amazed. **Sure, she'd seen Percy control water plenty of times before, but here in the Underworld? She had been sure his powers wouldn't work down here. But here they were, on the brink of Tartarus, and somewhat alive. She also couldn't believe how fast Percy had planned everything out. Annabeth was usually the one with a plan. It had felt like everything had happened so quickly. One minute they're facing a mob of Earthborn, and the next they're flying wildly across the desert. Oh, by the way, Percy's amazing explosion has now covered most of Tartarus in a land-locked ocean. It was a lot to take in, seeing how the whole scenario has taken place within five minutes. The current problem, however, was trying to figure out where to head now.

With a bit of tugging and pulling on Riptide, the sword came loose from the chunk of rock. Annabeth looked into the distance, expecting to see more sand or ocean. Instead, she saw trees. A wide, thick, and extremely dark forest. "You know what I see out there?" she asked Percy. "Let me guess: more sand?" "Nope, I see a forest." "What?" Percy came up the small dune to get a better look. "Well," he said, "that seems a bit random, don't you think?" Annabeth shrugged, "It's better than desert. Besides, you'd think Tartarus would be separated into different environments." "True." Annabeth looked out to the dark green trees. It would be even darker in there than out here, what with the trees looming overhead. They trekked over the dunes of sand to the edge of the forest. "Will we even be able to see where we're going?" Percy asked. "I don't know. At least we won't see anything better than we can see now. That's for sure." Percy took Annabeth's hand, then said, "Well, in that case, we'll need to stay together." He turned and looked at her, flashed her that troublemaker's grin, and they set off, guided only by their reassuring grip.

* * *

It was even darker than Annabeth had expected. Pitch black, not even a sliver of light came through the trees. Percy took out Riptide, which always cast a dim glow, but the desolate light was not enough to see their direction. When Annabeth tried to look behind them, she could not see the gap where they had entered through. It was if the entire thing had closed them off from the rest of Tartarus. No turning back now.

From the feel of the ground they were walking on, it was the same sand that they had just been on. Annabeth decided that their best bet would just be to keep walking straight, and find the exit. They continued on, holding on to each other so they didn't drift apart. It wasn't long before the sand they had grown so used to grew wet and marshy, squishy and soft. They stopped at the sudden change of landscape. "Um, that's a bit strange, huh?" Percy remarked. He bent down to feel the ground, shifting his hand in Annabeth's. "It's almost like..." he moved a little bit off the trail, "there's something here, it feels a bit like water...but thicker. Almost like..." He stood back up. "Like what?" Annabeth asked, confused. "Almost like it's...alive."

**A/N:** OK, HERE'S WHERE IT GETS CONFUSING. I AM GOING TO SPLIT THE POVS BETWEEN PERCY AND ANNABETH. WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IS ANNABETH WILL BE _ITALISIZED_, AND PERCY WILL BE** BOLDED**. LIKE THIS:** Percy **_Annabeth _GOT IT?THEN LET US CONTINUE:

_A split second after Percy said 'alive', I felt something wrap around my ankle, the one that had broken. It didn't feel like any kind of monster, though. It was the water, just like Percy had said. I shook it off and said, "We need to get-" _

**Annabeth was suddenly yanked right under the surface of the water. I didn't have any time to react, and I lost her hand. "Annabeth!" I yelled, and I dove under the surface of the water. **

_I was pulled right under, and lost Percy's hand. I could feel something pulling me, some kind of force in the water. _

_**Like I said, it didn't feel like water. It was just thicker, like liquid soap. **_

_I struggled against it, squirming and trying to break free. My knife wouldn't help me in this case. _

_Strangely enough, you could see better down here than above, and I saw Percy trying to get to me. I pulled as hard as I could and got my arms free so I could try to reach out to him. _

**I had trouble getting through it, and couldn't control nor breathe in it like I could normal water. I didn't care, though, nor stop and think about it. I had to find Annabeth, before I lost her again. I hadn't gone too far, when I saw her struggling against the force which had dragged her down. I think she saw me too, because she pulled her arms free and reached out. I grabbed her arms and tried to pull her back up. **

_I was temporarily freed, and dove back up with Percy. We barely broke surface again when I felt it again, and started kicking. "Percy!" I screamed, right before I was gone again. This time, though, I wasn't dragged through, more like pushed and shoved. I couldn't even see upward. _

**The muck wouldn't even let me under, now, no matter how much I tried. It was like it was pushing me back up, and more importantly, Annabeth down. And I know what you're thinking, how is the water even stopping you? The entire lake just felt like it was freezing up or something, becoming a solid barrier. **

_We were being pushed apart, and I couldn't break free or go around the opposing force. After pushing against the current, along with holding my breath for so long, I__ blacked out from exhaustion and oxygen deprivation. _

**Then as suddenly as it froze, it started melting and I broke through as fast as I could. I dove down and searched for Annabeth. I almost forgot I couldn't breathe in this water, so I returned to the surface for air, then dove right back down. Up, down, up, down. At long last, I decided it was hopeless. Annabeth wasn't down there. **

_..._

**I collapsed on the beach, exhausted. How could I have been so stupid?! I'd let her slip right through my fingertips, literally. And now, Annabeth was gone, probably forever, and it was my fault. **

**I didn't know what I was going to do now. Gaea had beaten us. With these thoughts, I finally blacked out on the shore of the cursed lake. It was over.**

**A/N: SO THAT'S IT, FOLKS! LOOK FOR THE SEQUEL, DOWN TO TARTARUS PART 2, COMING SOON! :D**


	2. Trapped In Her Pain

**A/N: SORRY FOR LEAVING YOU HANGING THERE, GUYS, AFTER PUBLISHING GONE AGAIN (RECAP OF PART 1) MY SUMMER GOT SO PACKED THAT I DIDN'T UPDATE FOR A WHILE. BUT FEAR NOT, HERE IT IS! THE OFFICIAL BEGINNING OF DOWN TO TARTARUS 2!**

**When Annabeth finally seemed to come through, she couldn't remember how she'd gotten here. **It had all seemed to happen in slow motion. She was...she was being pulled under, and there was Percy, but the monster was smarter than that. She was drowning, she couldn't see anything, couldn't think. Then, within the blink of an eye, she was here. Wherever 'here' was. It was darker than the forest had been, and then it had been pitch black. Now, it was like there was no light in the whole world. No faint glows, no occasional beam of moonlight. "Percy?" She called out, not knowing why. Maybe they were still in the forest, and had stopped to camp. Maybe she was asleep. Maybe she had just dreamt about drowning. _No, _Annabeth thought._ I can't convince myself that the lake had never happened. Percy won't answer, he isn't here. But, _she figured,_ I could still be sleeping. Or hallucinating. _

Annabeth took a cautious step forward. At least there was ground. She took another step. Still fine. She began to inch forward, testing out the ground, when she heard something. A scuttling noise. It reminded her of...something. Annabeth blindly put her hand on the hilt of her dagger and froze. There it was again, like keys on a keyboard, but much quieter. Like something was scuttling across the floor. Where had she heard it before? Annabeth unsheathed her knife, but didn't know where to focus on. The sound seemed to be moving, forward, behind her, to the left, to the ceiling, everywhere. Suddenly it was coming from every direction, closing in on her.

Then it dawned on her. It sounded just like that night, when her stepmom turned out the light, and they would crawl from the closet, under the door, through the walls. Like the spiders that had given her nightmares since she was seven. Annabeth dropped her knife. Frozen with fear, she stood still, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. _No, it can't be...it can't... _something touched her foot, started crawling up her shoe, her ankle, her legs. She tried to stay calm, telling herself _It's just a dream, Annabeth, it isn't real. _That's what her stepmom said too. "_It's just a dream, Annabeth, go back to sleep. You're scaring your brothers." _But it hadn't been, and this wasn't either.

Annabeth screamed as the spiders continued to cover her, cover her arms and neck, into her ears and mouth. Her throat tightened, and she gasped for air. She felt her neck. There seemed to be nothing there, but still she could feel it, suffocation starting to enclose her. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed. _I'm going to die here, in my very own mind. _Annabeth thought. _There's only one thing missing. _She looked up and saw her, her piercing, red eyes, her fangs, her pincers, which were reaching out towards her. It was Arachne. "_Do you regret tricking me now, daughter of Athena?! You will suffer the consequences at the hands of my children!" _Arachne shrieked, with a hint of delight in her voice. "_ You have destroyed me, my life's work, everything! But don't worry, the earth goddess will do the same for you NOW!" _

Arachne lunged, and Annabeth was helpless against her. But just as the spider caught her in it's grasp, it all dissolved into sand, just like all monsters do. Arachne, the spiders, everything. She could breathe again, and started to sob as she choked for air. But it wasn't over yet. The sand that the spiders had disintegrated to started to reform, but not into the form of a spider. It shaped into the form of a very familiar sleeping woman, the earth goddess Gaea. Annabeth jumped and backed away from Gaea's swirling body. Gaea spoke, with a voice as deceiving and blood-chilling as her son's. "_So, you are a hero from the prophecy which has been spoken against me. _She laughed, _Your mission is doomed for failure. None of your friends, nor you, will make it to the Doors of Death in time. You have only played into your own destruction. Soon, your blood will be used to fully awaken my essence, and I will take control of the world, as revenge for my son Kronos's defeat!" _Gaea laughed maniacally and Annabeth trembled, seemingly unable to move or speak. She had lost control over herself, like her mind had abandoned her in her greatest time of need. She could only watch and listen.

Suddenly, Gaea exploded, showering Annabeth in the sands that had originally been Arachne and her children. Annabeth was shaken out of her daze and brushed the sand off of her, slowly standing and still shivering. _It's over now, _she thought,_ it's over. "_Annabeth," a voice spoke to her, "Annabeth, it's me." Annabeth turned to see, "Luke," she said, "It...it can't be." But it was. He was standing right in front of her, most importantly with blue eyes. Luke smiled at her, his scar creasing at his temples, "But it is. I'm here now. Don't worry, Annabeth, I won't let anything hurt you anymore." Annabeth stepped back, "No. No, you won't. You're dead, Luke. You're dead, and you betrayed me. You..." Annabeth gulped, "You wouldn't help me. You're evil, you brought back Kronos, you _were _Kronos_. _Luke, how could you?! How could you do that to me, to us?!" Luke's happy expression morphed into anger, "How COULD I?! I was doing what needed to be done, and overthrow Olympus! If it wasn't for you and Percy, I would have succeeded! How could YOU do that to ME?!" With shock, Annabeth realized what Luke meant.

Annabeth had given Luke a family, someone to depend on, and she had backed away, not even tried. Hermes had been right, Annabeth could've fixed him before it was too late. But she didn't, and now Luke was dead, consumed with the thought that Annabeth had been responsible. Annabeth looked back at Luke and saw that his eyes were now flickering between blue and gold, and becoming painfully intense. "Luke, what happened? Why did this need to happen?" Luke looked at Annabeth with hatred, "Because it was necessary. Perhaps someday, someone will continue what I left behind. You can't stop it now Annabeth, it's too late." And with that, Luke walked up to Annabeth and took her shoulder in his hand, "You could've saved me, and you didn't. It's too late to save me now." Annabeth closed her eyes and bowed her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. When she looked up again, Luke was gone. Annabeth sat down, hugged her knees, and started to cry. She cried tears for Luke, her greatest regret that she would carry with her forever. Finally, from sheer exhaustion, she fell into a dreamless sleep, where she was finally released from her fear.

**A/N: READY FOR SOME NIGHTMARES TONIGHT, EVERYBODY?**


End file.
